On China's inaugural Space Day, the country unveils the first global color photographs of Mars.
The China National Space Administration (CNSA) released the first global photographs of Mars from its first Mars research mission on Monday, providing a more precise base map for future exploration and scientific research, according to The Global Times. CNSA and CAS developed 76-meter orthographic, Robinson, Mercator, and azimuthal color images of Mars' eastern and western hemispheres. The CNSA said Tianwen's data and image maps will help Mars science and exploration.
Between November 2021 and July 2022, 284 orbital Mars images were taken by the medium-resolution camera on Tianwen-1. The Mars global color imaging map was built using 14,757 ground-based application system images. According to experts, China's big Mars map shows the country's desire to share cutting-edge technologies. The achievements of China in space advance science and technology. According to space analyst and TV commentator Song Zhongping, "it also reflects our growing confidence in this subject," he told the Global Times on Monday. Technology has no borders, but the US has been erecting barriers to prevent others from using its technology, establishing information hegemony, technical monopolies, and waging a Cold War in space, according to him.
The CNSA revealed 22 Chinese-named Mars locations on Monday. Based on China's study teams' high-resolution pictures, the International Astronomical Union named 22 geographical entities near Tianwen's landing site after historical and cultural villages under 100,000. Tianwen-1 orbited Mars in 202 days. May 15, 2021, Zhurong left for Mars. After working 268 days, the Martian hibernated. By June 29, 2022, the Mars orbiter had remotely sensed for 1,000 days. The first Chinese Mars mission orbited, landed, and roved. 13 scientific payloads processed 1,800 MB.
Multi-dimensional exploration missions would retain Tianwen-1's first-hand detection data and two-year scientific investigation, analysts said. CAS's Zhurong rover found Mars' first water-bearing minerals in May 2022. Science explained. Zhurong's ground-penetrating radar found Mars' billion-year-old floods. A September 2022 Nature study by CAS and Peking University found an ocean near the rover's landing site, Utopia Planitia.
